Brave New (Cheese) World

The only lockdown that our goats are experiencing now is their usual one – being permanently locked out of our tree plantings and remnant bushland paddocks. Otherwise, for the goats at least, life goes on, with the rising and setting of the sun and the moon. Milking twice a day, rumination time, grazing time andContinue reading “Brave New (Cheese) World”

Obsalim training: motivated farmers + small on-farm change = big returns

Dr Bruno Giboudeau has just completed his Victorian workshops (the last one was at our farm) and he headed back to France yesterday, having brought the Obsalim techniques and learning to over 50 keen participants over the past fortnight. Though most of the workshoppers were dairy farmers, we also had a vet, animal nutritionist andContinue reading “Obsalim training: motivated farmers + small on-farm change = big returns”

Stop, Look and Listen. Ruminate.

Obsalim. If you follow our blog, and us, you will know we are big fans of this method of animal husbandry and its French instigator Dr Bruno Giboudeau. We have been fortunate to have Bruno visit the farm several times to teach us and other dairy farmers about the benefits of Obsalim and how itContinue reading “Stop, Look and Listen. Ruminate.”

Nothing backward about these producers

The only thing backward about the winners of the delicious. Produce Awards is the video that highlights their produce as it travels from the plate, back to the land, or sea, or dairy, or … You can take a look here at the goats ‘backing up’ as well as some great overhead shots of ourContinue reading “Nothing backward about these producers”

Holy Goat Dynasty

We’ve just had another successful kidding. Kidding is always a stressful time, but this season was so much easier for us all, thanks to our repurposed shed and refined management systems. The new shed has a concrete floor – its thick layer of straw bedding can be quickly and easily cleaned out and replaced. TwelveContinue reading “Holy Goat Dynasty”

Up on the new line

It’s been 15 months since we upgraded our dairy and it’s made a big difference for everyone. We have gone from 12 goats up on the line and eight milking cups, to 12 cups with 24 goats up. More space for everyone and a better feeding system – more ergonomic and efficient for humans, less stress and standing about for the goats. Watch our newContinue reading “Up on the new line”

A four-eyed focus on Obsalim

We’ve written about Bruno Giboudeau’s, visit and our training and learning with Obsalim in an earlier post and page. Since July, our two interns Maider Haicaguerre, from France, and Eva Zanettini, from Italy, have been undertaking a focussed project using Obsalim with the dairy herd. Four eyes are better than two, and Maider and Eva haveContinue reading “A four-eyed focus on Obsalim”

Delicious! Holy Goat wins again

The 2016 delicious. Produce Awards were held this week at the Pier One Sydney Harbour Hotel. We couldn’t make it to the affair, attended each year by the who’s who of small, sustainable production, and those who support, sell and cook with their produce. Sally Gosper and the team from our Sydney-based distributor, Simon Johnson attended onContinue reading “Delicious! Holy Goat wins again”

Producing, Employing, Sustaining, Conserving … and it’s a Farm

We were proud to host a recent farm field day at Sutton Grange and on our property last month. The focus was on biodiversity and production, and how it is possible to manage the land for the benefit of both of these elements; to sustain the environment, farmers, and communities. We were also thrilled that Connecting Country and the North CentralContinue reading “Producing, Employing, Sustaining, Conserving … and it’s a Farm”

More than gut instinct

We have been managing our farm at Sutton Grange for over 17 years now. Before that we’d spent many years developing our apprenticeships with dairy goats, both in Australia and overseas. We are still learning. It’s very exciting to see things anew and to see new things, even after this stint. The recent visit fromContinue reading “More than gut instinct”